Microsoft is turning “Live” into a social network. That’s what seems to be at the core of the big changes that will be happening to Live.com over the next day or so. Instead of just being a search box, it’s getting activity and contact information from around the web – a ‘news feed’ of sorts.

If you want to check it out early, you can. It’s at home.live.com. It’s about using existing connections to build your network, so that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of ‘adding’ people yet again. Anyone that you’re friends with on MSN Messenger automatically becomes a connection, and you can see what they’re upto on a variety of different sites.